Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Did she or didn't she?

Well, I did it. I went on the Vegas trip.

Husband's mom, Grandma K, arrived last Monday. When she came, I warned that I probably would not be able to leave little Bean. "Follow your heart," Grandma K said... I was just so worried that Bean would not take well to having someone that she hadn't seen since Thanksgiving putting her to bed at night, and taking care of her during the night.

But Bean was not at all shy with Grandma K, no stranger danger at all. On Tuesday, Bean went to school for just a couple of hours (for routine's sake) and then Grandma K picked her up... by the time Husband and I got home, Bean and Grandma K were old buddies, playing and laughing and dancing to her Blue Moo CD. And, creme de la creme, Bean had taken a 90 minute nap for Grandma K without a fuss. It was very reassuring, and I told Husband that night that we could probably go to Vegas on Thursday.

Wednesday was another good day with Grandma K, so Wednesday night after I got Bean to sleep, I prepped her food for the next day and told Husband I would go. I stayed up (far too late) that night trying to pack.

The thing is, for a vacation, you usually like to bring your A-list outfits, right? Well, I hadn't yet figured out which of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit again. Turns out, most of them fit... just not the way they used to. I'm at about +3 pounds right now compared to my pre-pregnancy weight. But since I took a prolonged break from running, got pregnant, had a c-section, and breastfed for the last 11 months, my body isn't quite the same shape as it once was. *sigh* So I went through a good percentage of my wardrobe trying to find something that looked right on me.

Ah well, let's hope training for this half-marathon does my legs and hips some good. And that eventually my rack goes back to normal.

Anyway, Thursday morning we left the house before dawn. I sat in the backseat with Bean, holding her little hand and trying not to cry. The worst was actually trying to say goodbye at the airport. It was heart wrenching, and I almost backed out. But Husband stood patiently on the curb, and hugged me as Grandma K and Bean drove away.

In the airport, there seemed to be babies the same age as Bean everywhere. "No fair!" I complained, but Husband promised there would be no adorable babies in Las Vegas. "Who brings their baby to Vegas?" he asked.

It turns out a lot of people bring their adorable 11 month old babies to Vegas. But in the end, I'm glad I didn't. There was so much cigarette smoke everywhere we went that the cough I had been courting for the past three weeks got worse by the hour. I ended up losing my voice!

But I started feeling better each time I called Grandma K to check on the Bean. She did wonderfully, of course, and was perfectly happy to let Grandma K take care of her.

Husband and I, meanwhile, had a wonderful time laying in the sun by the pool, reading our books, relaxing, and taking walks together. It was in the 70s the whole time, and we lapped the sun up like starving little kittens. We hung out with our friends until way too late, we slept in, we had leisure time together, we went out for a romantic dinner. It was wonderful.

On a scale of 1-10, I rank the trip an "awesome".

My reunion with the Bean wasn't quite what I pictured. When Grandma K pulled up at the airport, I peered in the back window to see the Bean. As soon as she saw me, she started bawling. It was like suddenly she realized "Oh yeah, I missed my mom" and she took several minutes and some great big kisses to calm down.

To my relief, she nursed happily that night, and all through the next day. I had been very worried that the Bean would give up on nursing while I was away, but luckily I was just paranoid.

On Easter Sunday, we took Grandma K and the Bean to the local zoo. It was Bean's first trip to the zoo, and she had a great time, despite lousy weather. Her favorites seemed to be the jaguar and the bunnies, followed by the 5 month old baby gorilla. Of course, she called the jaguar "dog", but you know... close enough.

Anyway, overall the trip was great. It was REALLY hard to leave, but the Bean had a great time with Grandma K, and I think the trip was really good for Husband and I. But I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon.

Yay sunshine! didn't it feel sooooo goooooood?! I'm glad you did it - I know it must have taken a lot of strength to watch your little bean be driven away. and the full night's sleep - oh i"m soooooo jealous!

and only +3 pounds!?? does that even count? ;) you are so not aloud to give me cr-p about my weight any more! ;) in the month+ since you last saw me I've grown a beer belly (I even thought I was pregnant at one point!) and gone back up about 5lbs. I think the hip thing might be with us for life. It's sort of the battle scar of mamahood. That and stretch marks. sorry :(